14 March 2012

March 14, 2012   Today's Stories

New York May Become First State To Require DNA of All Convicts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ New York state is poised to create one of the most expansive DNA databases in the nation, requiring people convicted of everything from fare beating to first-degree murder to provide DNA samples to the state, the New York Times reports. Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislators are making a deal to establish an all-crimes DNA database, which is backed by all of the state's 62 district attorneys, 58 sheriffs, and 400 police chiefs. New York already collects DNA from convicted felons and some people convicted of misdemeanors, but prosecutors say collecting DNA from all people convicted of misdemeanors will help them identify suspects of more violent crimes, and, in some cases, exonerate people wrongly accused. "Every single time we've expanded the DNA database, we have shown how effective it is in convicting people who commit crimes, and we've also shown that it can be used to exonerate the innocent," said Richard Aborn, the president of the Citizens Crime Commission. Lisa Hurst, a forensic DNA consultant with the firm Gordon Thomas Honeywell Governmental Affairs, said New York would be the first state to require all criminals to submit DNA samples. New York Times

Virginia Lags In Exonerating Convicts Via DNA Evidence ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Bennett Barbour, who was convicted in 1978 in Virginia of a rape he didn't commit, is one of only a handful who have enjoyed vindication, says Slate.com. Years ago, Virginia authorities realized they were likely convicting innocent men. At least dozens, maybe more, might be exonerated using DNA tests. The state did not move quickly to suspend these sentences or contact the individuals or families involved. They did not publicize their findings. Indeed, they denied Freedom of Information Act requests that would have shed light on the problem. Rather, Virginia officials appear to have devised a system of notifying current and former convicts that is almost guaranteed to lead to the fewest number of exonerations. In 2004, then-Gov. Mark Warner ordered a random audit of 31 cases, which led to two exonerations. He then ordered that every DNA sample obtained between 1973 and 1988 be rechecked. Now in its 7th year, the project has cost $5 million. The Richmond Times-Dispatch says the state located about 800 DNA samples, that have excluded more than 70 people as perpetrators of a crime. Slate.com

New TX Immigrant Detention Center--A Bit Less Than a Prison ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The federal government is opening up a new immigrant detention center in rural southern Texas--a 600-person facility built to make detention feel less like prison, NPR reports. "It was never our authority or our responsibility to punish people or correct their behavior," said Gary Mead, director of enforcement and removal operations for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. "Our authority is only to facilitate removal. So we have to treat them very differently than how the state prison system or county jail system would treat people in their custody." largest private prison company, won the contract to operate this facility. The company has been sued in recent years over the conditions of some of its facilities. GEO's Reed Smith says, "Yes, we are a for-profit company, butt if we cut corners, we wouldn't have been selected to operate a facility like this." NPR

What's In a Name? A Lot, When the Name is "Felon" ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Felon" is an ugly label that confirms the debased status that accompanies conviction, writes former U.S. Pardon Attorney Margaret Love for The Crime Report. In Love's view, the word "identifies a person as belonging to a class outside many protections of the law, someone who can be freely discriminated against, someone who exists at the margins of society. In short, a "felon" is a legal outlaw and social outcast." Love argues that "felon" arouses fear and loathing in most of us, conjuring up "Images of large, scary people (men, of course) whose goal in life is to steal my things and hurt me, the staple weekend fare on MSNBC." What description should be used instead? Love says, "Perhaps there isn't a single word, and perhaps that is precisely the point. We can say first that our brothers and sisters are people, then (if relevant) we can also say that they are people who have been convicted of a felony." The Crime Report

U.S. Attorney Bharara Attacks Gangs in NYC's Tree-Lined Suburbs ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In recent years, authorities have arrested more than 200 gang members in an unexpected place: the tree-lined suburbs along the Hudson River in New York state, reports NPR. Drug traffickers with ties to the Bloods, the Latin Kings, and other gangs have put down roots there. Authorities say they brought shootings and stabbings with them. In Middletown, N.Y., 90 minutes northwest of New York City, last month, a law enforcement task force used helicopters and SWAT teams to find more than two dozen suspected members of the Bloods street gang, accused of racketeering, conspiracy, and drug charges that could send them to prison for a decade. An indictment says the group operated like a criminal machine, pushing cocaine, marijuana, and heroin from the Bronx into New York's northern suburbs. For three months, authorities tracked them using wiretaps and cameras on telephone poles and trees. Preet Bharara, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, is best known for prosecuting Wall Street executives. He says preventing gang bloodshed is his top priority. NPR

Federal Criminal Cases at Record High; Drug Offenses Lead the Way ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The number of criminal defendants in federal courts in the year ending last September 30 rose 3 percent to set a new record of 102,931, says the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. Drug offenses continued to be the most commonly prosecuted crimes, accounting for 31 percent of all defendant filings. Twenty-eight percent of defendant filings were immigration-related offenses. The number of defendants accused of immigration offenses declined for the first time since 2006, dropping 3 percent to 28,239. Fraud defendants rose 3 percent to 12,973. The most notable increase was in defendants charged with attempt and conspiracy to defraud, which grew 34 percent to 2,239. In federal appeals courts, criminal cases dropped 5 percent to 12,198, primarily because fewer prisoners sentenced for crack cocaine offenses sought reductions of their sentences. Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts

Survey Backs NYPD On Antiterror Work, Not on Stop and Frisk ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Most New York City voters believe the police department has been effective in fighting terrorism, and a majority say it has acted appropriately in its dealings with Muslims, says a new survey that questioned respondents after Associated Press stories about police surveillance of Muslims after the Sept. 11 attacks, the AP Reports. Overall, 63 percent approved of way police are doing their job, although when asked about the controversial policy for stopping, questioning, and frisking people, only 46% approved while 49% disapproved. "The numbers have been consistently high," said Maurice Carroll of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "People think the cops do a good job." The AP has reported that police monitored mosques and Muslims around the New York area and kept tabs on Muslim student groups at universities in upstate New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Associated Press/USA Today

Tide Is a Hot Item for Professsional Shoplifters, Drug Addicts ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Procter & Gamble's signature brand Tide has become a hot item among professional shoplifters, who resell the detergent on the black market for quick cash, retailers and law enforcement officers confirm. More than 100 incidents have been reported in Cincinnati, the Enquirer reports. A story on the "grime wave" reported in the electronic publication The Daily reported that the orange, blue, and yellow jugs have become a favorite target of "boosters" who find a ready market to sell the stuff for about half of what it sells for in stores. "Our retailers are telling us that Tide has been a problem for the last year," says Read Hayes of the Loss Prevention Research Council, a group of about 70 retailers and manufacturers. The market-leading detergent usually can command a premium price at the checkout counter, up to $20 for a big 150-ounce bottle. Sold under the table, in an alley or a back room, it can go for a mere $5 or $10. Hayes said it's often sold at housing projects or low-income apartments, often by drug addicts. "They're converting the Tide to cash," he said. Tide is valuable, quickly consumable and easily removable from store shelves, traits that make it attractive to professional thieves who sometimes load up carts and walk out the door to getaway cars. Cincinnati Enquirer

Boy, 3, Leaves Car Seat, Finds Gun, Kills Himself ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A 3-year-old boy fatally shot himself with a gun he found in a car while his family stopped for gas in Washington state today, police told the Associated Press, marking western Washington's third recent shooting by a child. "It is incredible in light of the other ones," said Tacoma police Officer Naveed Benjamin. "You would think people would take more care, not less." A man had put a pistol under the seat and got out to pump gas while the boy's mother went inside the convenience store. They left her son and her boyfriend's 4- or 5-year-old daughter in the car. The boy climbed out of his back-seat child seat, found the gun and shot himself in the head, police said. "You can't predict what children are going to do," Benjamin said. "You need to unload and lock it up if you're not carrying it. [ ] It's really not that hard to practice firearm safety." Twenty-seven states have a law to prevent child access to firearms. Such laws can include criminal penalties for adults who allow children to get their hands on guns, but Washington lacks such a law, says the San Francisco-based Legal Community Against Violence. Associated Press/Washington Post

Los Angeles Boosts Response to Police-Involved Traffic Collisions ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Acknowledging major problems with the quality of its investigations into traffic collisions involving officers, the Los Angeles Police Department announced new rules intended to improve the thoroughness and credibility of the inquiries, reports the Los Angeles Times. The times had examined the human and financial toll of officer-involved accidents. The Times found that police caused about 1,250 crashes over the last three years - an average of about one a day. Most were minor, but some resulted in life-threatening injuries or were the result of the officer violating traffic laws. In at least two incidents, the driver of another car was killed. Under the new policy, any time an officer is involved in a traffic accident in which someone is killed or injured badly enough to require hospitalization, a team of detectives and officers trained in crash reconstruction will go to the scene immediately. The team will preserve skid marks and other physical evidence needed to reconstruct the crash and will interview witnesses and compel the officers involved to give their account of what happened. Los Angeles Times

Jury Awards $200,000 To Portland Man In Tasing Incident ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A federal jury in Portland, Or., awarded more than $200,000 to a man who was struck by a Taser five times by a police officer who suspected him of spray-painting graffiti on a commercial building. Daniel Halsted, 36, who has no criminal record, called the 2008 encounter with officer Benjamin Davidson "the most traumatic experience" in his life. Attorney Joseph Grube argued that Davidson failed to identify himself as an officer on a dark street at 1 a.m., wrongly assumed his client was involved in the vandalism and used force disproportional to the alleged crime of "petty vandalism." Once Tased, Halsted said he fell, had his face pushed into the ground and suffered facial fractures and abrasions to his head and hands. Police cited him for resisting arrest and criminal mischief, but prosecutors didn't file charges. "He's not allowed to needlessly attack someone without probable cause," Grube said. "A police officer should not assume someone is guilty before they use force." The Oregonian

Burglaries Up in South Jersey; Gold Favored Over Electronics ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A rash of burglaries have hit some South New Jersey Jersey towns this year, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. Police have responded by concentrating patrols on hot spots, and in Haddonfield, the chief has gone out on patrols a few hours a week. Some burglars have passed over electronics, such as iPads, and grabbed only jewelry and cash. A sluggish economy, high gold prices, the usual scourge of drug addition, and a milder winter may have fueled the rise, some officers said. One officer said harsher penalties could help discourage burglars. Two bills in the Legislature seek to stiffen the penalties. Mitchell Sklar of the New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police said several other New Jersey towns have also seen a rise. "It's come on everybody's radar in the past several months," he said. "This is not a localized issue." The burglaries occurred mostly during working hours. Some homes did not have alarms, while residents of others had not turned theirs on. In Evesham, "You always get these spikes, but it seems like in the past six months, it's been a bigger spike than what I've seen in the past," said police Sgt. Joseph Friel. He said it's too easy for burglars to sell gold to shops. Philadelphia Inquirer